A Life in Music

When this song came out, they would they would play it in the hallways every morning in elementary school before classes started. You can't help but listen to Don't Worry Be Happy with a smile on your face. It truly does make you happy. I suppose that was the intention when it was decided to start our school days with this song.

One of my sisters used to sing me to sleep with this song. It is a very sad song for me because it reminds me of the relationship we once had that dissipated over time. I remember when she was pregnant with her first son and I was very upset because I believed we wouldn't be friends anymore. Things did change, but not as much as they changed when I became an adult. Now she lives on the other side of the United States. I often wonder if I will ever see her again.

I loved Madonna when I was a little girl. Live to Tell was one of my favorites because it seemed to touch a deep emotion that I was probably too young to have just yet. Madonna was one of the biggest icons of my childhood generation. I loved her movies, especially Who's That Girl, Desperately Seeking Susan, and even Dick Tracy. She was my hero. Now I couldn't care less for her or her music. But I still know the words to Live to Tell.

I spent many afternoons, alone in my room, reading with Tom Petty singing to me. Tom Petty always made me feel like I was going on a new journey with each of his songs. They each told a story. This video seemed to always be playing on MTV when it came out and long after. I loved cartoons for more than half my life, which is why the video always appealed to me. I would watch Liquid TV, Aeon Flux, and Beavis and Butthead late at night. I miss those shows sometimes.

Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians was one of the first artists that I remember buying an album by. She was sick once and had a show to do, so she wrapped herself up in a blanket and laid down on the stage to perform. There was a strength in that and this song that spoke to me. I was only eight or nine when this album came out. But, still, somehow I needed the strength.

I spent many days painting watercolors with one of my sisters. She would play all sorts of music, but Kate Bush was one of her favorites. We would get my favorite snack food - Smartfood and New York vanilla seltzer. It was always fun to spend those afternoons being creative. I could sing along to Kate Bush at that age because my voice was still high pitched. I still love this song even though I can't sing along well anymore. Kate Bush has the most unique sound that I've ever encountered in my life of music.

This song marks my entry into puberty, an awkward and strange time. I used to sing this song to the top of my lungs as I rode my bike around. We lived in a house that had an amazing view of all of downtown Charleston. My mother had remarried and I was generally miserable. I felt uncool, unloved, and detached most of the time. It felt like no one ever listened to me. This song, as happy as it sounds, makes me think of all of these things.

My sister thought that I had a crush on her boyfriend, and she got really upset when my mom bought me Doc Martens (which were really popular at the time) because she thought I was trying to be like her boyfriend. This would be the first time that our relationship would start fraying at the edges. I was so frustrated during that time because it seemed like she wouldn't listen to me. This song reminds me of that because her boyfriend would play it loudly in the car all the time. I hated that song. But after a while, I grew to like it.

I remember when Kurt committed suicide. I was fourteen. It was the most profound death of a musician in my lifetime. Nirvana is just one of those bands that really defines my generation. I would listen to a lot of their music over the next few years.

When "Sober" came out, the video struck a chord deep inside me. I immediately went out and bought the album. Sadly enough, it was one of the censored versions with the plain insert. I didn't see the original insert until three or so years later. I was your typical angry 14-year-old and the charged emotion in Undertow appealed to me. It would become one of my favorite bands and remains so today.

Towards the end of high school I got really into Nine Inch Nails. I belonged to Columbia House and received Downward Spiral in the mail by mistake when I was about fifteen. I listened to it once and immediately dismissed it as trash. It seems kind of funny to think about how dramatically my musical tastes shifted to finally embrace NIN. I love Down in It because it has a wonderful beat and is really fun to sing along to.

I married young and the whole thing fell apart in a short period of time. After the separation, I suffered from a deep depression. This song shadows that time. I spent a lot of time creating art and sneaking into abandoned buildings to take pictures. I was intensely creative, but also intensely miserable for a long time. I had a great deal of bad luck and every relationship I had seemed to explode in my face.

Towards the end of my twenties, before I met my current husband, I began to really see the toll of time. I was dating someone that was six years my junior. We didn't relate well at all because of the tremendous generation gap. The relationship was short-lived and didn't really impact me at all. However, this was a time that I started to see a way out of the darkness. Radiohead has always been one of my favorite bands. Thom has this way of saying things that is always uniquely poetic. A Reminder was just that - a reminder of how "once I was clear and once I was me." It kept me holding on. I knew, somehow, life would get better.

I found love where and when I least expected it. Over the years since our marriage, I feel like I've grown so much. My life took on a new direction as we sorted out everything together. We took longs drives and had long conversations. We spent every free moment dreaming. Last year we welcomed our son into the world - an unexpected and wonderful event. This song, as sad as it is, makes me think of my happiness and a bright future with my little family.